Letter to the Editor: Selected play sends wrong message

By DEBBIE WARIXSpring Glen

Editor:

I feel compelled to express my deep disappointment in the choice of "Bye Bye Birdie" for this year's play. I was not familiar with this play, but was sufficiently impressed with past presentations to take my children and invite other friends to join us. I will be more careful to check out the theme before doing that again.

I grew up in the 60's, so the message was not new to me. Parents were portrayed as clueless and hopelessly inept at providing any guidance. In fact all adults were not to be trusted, self-serving and manipulative. The teens, on the other hand, were encouraged to throw off all moral restraints, follow their hearts and do what came naturally. The same message was promoted to Rose, the secretary caught up in an unhealthy relationship with a "mama's boy" boss. Her choice to throw out all moral restraint, aided by the choice of drinking to weaken her inhibitions was exalted in the play, yet was in reality a pathetic display of self-destructive behavior. I don't know what happened after that, because we had had enough and left during that scene.

I hope the youth of today are wiser than my generation was. Many, probably most, of the people I went to school with followed that path. Can't we at least learn from their mistakes and not repeat them? These values, or lack of them, do not lead to happy, fulfilled relationships. Never has a generation been so inept at being good parents, or ushered in so many negative social changes. Consider the fact that teenage pregnancies are at an all time high, God is no longer allowed to be spoken of in school, abortion is easily available to anyone who doesn't want to have the responsibility of parenthood, or even the inconvenience of carrying a baby to term and giving it up for adoption, escapism through drugs, alcohol, pornography and even TV and movies have disconnected many from any meaningful contribution to society.

At the same time, ACT and SAT scores are plummeting and having to be "dumbed down" in order for graduating seniors to be able to enter college. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. "Celebration of Youth!"...give me a break. These ideas need to be exposed and rejected, not exalted and used to corrupt yet another group of unsuspecting teens.

There are values that have stood the test of time. We are all free to choose our own path, but choices have consequences. As a freshman in high school, I was faced with the claims of Christ and after careful deliberation and examination, came to believe them to be absolutely true. I put my trust in him and determined to follow the Bible to the best of my ability. This decision changed my life and helped me to see through the propaganda offered my generation. My husband and I will celebrate 25 years of marriage this June. We have had the joy of bringing nine wonderful children into the world and are expecting our first grandchild in June. Our children similarly enjoy being involved in the church we attend every time the doors are open. We have chosen to home school them all in order to give them every advantage we can to prepare them for life. That sacrifice, financially and personally, has been rich in rewards. I have no regrets.

Each of us determine the direction our lives will take by the choices we make. I like the saying..."We are not created to be "Winners" or "Losers," only "Choosers!"